Step 4: Repeat!

Step 1: Observe

Before new ideas can be explored, it is important to study the weaknesses of current designs. In most cases, start by asking experienced people about their own observations with a device. What are the current design's shortcomings? What parts of the designs are most likely to break? What features of the current design do you they the most important? A similar line of questioning should also be asked to yourself after each prototype is made. Observing the way current designs work is the springboard off which to conceive new ideas.

Look carefully at the simple tools around you and you are sure to find dozens of subtle design choices that make them more effiecient and intuitive to use. Notice the little ridge on the "J" key to allow the user to re-center their fingers without needing to look down at the keyboard.

Rapid prototyping is a subset of RAD: Rapid Application Development.&nbsp; This in turn is a subset of any one of a number of AGILE&nbsp;development methodologies. Your diagram needs 4/5 steps which you mention in the body of your text.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> AGILE is a constant state of development (AND audit).&nbsp; In my world OBSERVE&nbsp;is DISCOVERY or ANALYSIS&nbsp;depending on the rev - BRIANSTORM is DESIGN - PROTOTYPE&nbsp; is BUILD which does not include specification.&nbsp; AGILE&nbsp;resource have experience in lieu of specification-based&nbsp; methodologies, yet there is a full paper/ etrail,&nbsp; Road Warriers (consultants) of age make the best AGILE developers. They are not kids out of school - they are required to prepare Enterprise solutions (in my case) based on experience facing an audience of multi-disciplinary carnivores, virtually every day. &nbsp; They are required to understand the details of the projects from field to table and redeign standing up in front of upper management and heads of every operational department (the DANCING&nbsp;BEAR routine).&nbsp; <br /> <br /> After build It requires a RELEASE&nbsp;with a predetermined (or all H*ll breaks loose - picture shotgun blast to twenty diet coke torpedoes fed mentos as an energy release) FEEDBACK&nbsp;mechanism.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Then it starts again: Analyze-Build/change- release- feedaback (Italian) - start at the beginning. &nbsp; If a multi-disciplinary team, I can see DESIGN.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> VR<br />

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://inventnow.org">water</a> is that an amp in the picture? sorry about the link my computer did it randomly<br/>

That's not an amp. An amp would be much larger. And although this idea is very clever, it's extremely practical (especially if you were to use an amp, lol). here are 2 reasons for impracticality:<br/>1. Noise: moving parts make noise, but this makes more <br/>2. Safety: moving parts can hurt someone, but in order for this to work well it would have to be loud enough to bust your ears<br/><br/>But I must say, very creative. 9 out of 10 satisfactory experiments are trial and error, so keep it up. And rock on... \<sub>/, (oo) ,\</sub>/<br/>

Hey Adam, it could also be nice to add an 'evaluate' step in this process :)<br/><br/>also, about cable driven fingers, this nice cable driven gadget created by prototyping master Marvin Minsky <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy8mzH-H6tM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy8mzH-H6tM</a><br/><br/>and also this nice ultimate hand machine<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/24/ultimate-machine-fli.html">http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/24/ultimate-machine-fli.html</a><br/><br/>cheers!<br/>

Good instructable. Got me thinking a bit. I want to know more about the cable driven fingers up there.<br/><br/>Ivan<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.prototypezone.com">Rapid Prototyping Info</a><br/>

did it work?

Nice instructable. Now, how about one about how to make that nifty elacoil? I found your MIT page and the instructions there, but couldn't quite decipher the drawings. I myself am involved in a national, competitive robotics organization (www.usfirst.org) and would rather enjoy to understand how those little spiffy actuators worked on the inside. Thanks!

The Elongation Actuation coil (Elacoil) is actually pretty simple. It's literally just latex tubing and a spring. The hydraulic line used to drive it is filled with water and actuated by hand with a cheap syringe.
By placing a piece of flexible latex tubing down the center of a 1/4" O.D. light-duty extension spring, pressure applied to the latex tubing pushes the sidewalls of the latex into the inner walls of the spring and then proceeds to elongate the spring as more pressure is applied.

Oh I see, similar to an air muscle. Thanks!
Oh, one more thing: on your hand manipulator, your elacoil seemed to arc in a rough estimate of the bending-of-a-human-finger. How did you accomplish this curvature?

About This Instructable

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Background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, and Tangible Interfaces from MIT. Currently working at Fiddlewax to create new musical instruments. Other projects I've ...
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